Abstract
This article compares digital arenas such as Twitter with the principles prescribed by the bourgeois public sphere, to examine how close or far these arenas are from Habermas’ original concept. By focusing on one of the criteria, the current influence of elites on political debate, it discusses the Habermasian principles of general accessibility and non-dominance of the elites as prerequisites for a functioning public sphere. This study finds that even though there are few access restrictions on Twitter and despite the fact that no one, in principle, is excluded from the platform, there is no apparent elimination of privileges and the elites maintain their elite status within its borders. Methodologically, the article relies on empirical research of hashtagged exchanges on Twitter during the General Elections in the United Kingdom in 2015. Through the mapping of Twitter as a synthesis of dialogic arenas, it explores the elite-focused discourse and the vocal actors in the stream, underscoring that the presence of the elites, even in an indirect way. Drawing on these elements, the article argues for a reconceptualization of the normative perception of the public sphere, suggesting the notion of <em>exclusion </em>is a complex issue that includes expanding notions of <em>publics </em>to also include those <em>topics </em>being discussed. Finally, it focuses on the significance of journalism in relation to political dialogue and argues that the move towards less elite-centered arenas largely depends on journalism.
Highlights
The emergence of social media platforms was accompanied by “a fresh wave of technological optimism” (Loader & Mercea, 2011) that underlined the potential of these platforms having a democratizing effect on political dialogue, by providing open and accessible arenas
In unpacking the principles of the bourgeois public sphere, and transforming them into measurable criteria, this work examines the extent to which current contemporary arenas are close to the Habermasian ideal, shifting the dialogue from questioning whether the Internet is a digital public sphere towards tracing manifestations of the public sphere online, addressing the extent to which certain arenas are closer or further from the vision of a bourgeois public sphere which Habermas proposed
This article focuses on the criteria of general access to the arenas of dialogue, on the multiplicity of topics discussed, and on the elimination of privileges, as the notion of exclusion is one of the most contested areas when it comes to the bourgeois public sphere
Summary
The emergence of social media platforms was accompanied by “a fresh wave of technological optimism” (Loader & Mercea, 2011) that underlined the potential of these platforms having a democratizing effect on political dialogue, by providing open and accessible arenas. In mapping the presence of elites and arguing for the complexity of the aspects of exclusion and inclusion, this article proposes the following set of criteria in assessing the public sphere online: the openness of the social networking platform; the limitations on the discussed topics; and the hierarchical form of interaction It examines the presence of dominant elite actors, defined here as governing elites as a societal classification which points to “groups of people who either exercised directly or were in a position to influence very strongly the exercise of, political power” While theoretically the wider goal concerns the reconceptualization of the concept, empirically, each of the criteria offers insightful observations on political dialogue online
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